The Permissions API provides a consistent programmatic way to query the status of API permissions attributed to the current context — for example whether permission to use the API is granted or denied, and whether the user will be asked whether permission should be granted for an API.

Concepts and usage

Historically different APIs handle their own permissions inconsistently — for example the Notifications API allows for explicit checking of permission status and requesting permission, whereas the Geolocation API doesn't (which causes problems if the user denied the initial permission request). The Permissions API provides the tools to allow developers to implement a better user experience as far as permissions are concerned.

The permissions property has been made available on the Navigator object, both in the standard browsing context and the worker context (WorkerNavigator — so permission checks are available inside workers), and returns a Permissions object that provides access to the Permissions API functionality.

Once you have this object you can then perform permission-related tasks, for example querying a permission using the Permissions.query() method to return a promise that resolves with the PermissionStatus for a specific API.

Not all APIs' permission statuses can be queried using the Permissions API. Notable APIs that are Permissions-aware include: